Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Republic Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.00.

Republic Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ RBCAA opened at $73.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.60. Republic Bancorp has a 1-year low of $56.79 and a 1-year high of $78.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.90 and a 200-day moving average of $71.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.13). Republic Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 25.19%.The company had revenue of $94.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.50 million.

Republic Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a $0.495 dividend. This is an increase from Republic Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Republic Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RBCAA. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Republic Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 68.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 608 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Republic Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Republic Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 2,561.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 825 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.37% of the company’s stock.

Republic Bancorp Company Profile

Republic Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Republic Bank & Trust Company. The company provides a full suite of commercial and retail banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses and middle‐market clients. Core offerings include deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage financing, SBA lending and wealth management solutions. Republic Bancorp also supports specialized financing needs through equipment leasing and small business advisory services.

Republic Bancorp’s branch network spans key markets in the U.S.